About the Agency

Founded in 2013, Brookhaven is a relatively young city located on the edge of Atlanta. The city’s location creates a blend of residential neighborhoods, retail corridors, and commuter traffic patterns that demand rapid, coordinated response capabilities.

Unlike larger agencies with dedicated aviation units, Brookhaven historically relied on county or state helicopter resources that could take up to 90 minutes to arrive. The department’s Drone as First Responder (DFR) program was born out of a practical operational problem: officers routinely needed aerial support faster than mutual aid aviation resources could respond.

The Challenge

Captain Abrem Ayana recalled a vehicle theft incident where a suspect fled into a large city park at night. Officers established a perimeter and requested helicopter support, but aviation assets were unavailable for more than an hour. By the time the aircraft arrived, the suspect was gone.

“That was the moment,” Ayana explained. “We needed aviation capability, and so the next day I started exploring DFR as a possibility.”

Brookhaven’s initial tests were positive, and when the department launched its DFR program in 2021 it was the second one in the world. The program expanded quickly, but the original platform created operational challenges. Their old platform consistently required an officer on the rooftop in the Atlanta area’s hot and humid weather. RF issues frequently disrupted flights, leaving officers without aerial support.

The department also faced increasing administrative workloads. Drone evidence uploads required SD cards, lockboxes, manual data uploads, and extensive evidence tagging.

In 2025, Brookhaven was looking for a faster, more scalable operational model.

The Solution

Brookhaven proactively began exploring options to expand their DFR program. Although they already had several Axon solutions, including Axon Body 4 cameras, Axon Evidence, and VR Training, they were not initially interested in the Axon DFR partner, Skydio.

“I’ll admit I was initially a pretty vocal critic of Skydio drones,” explained Ayana. “When we agreed to do a trial, I told them I was going to push it hard until it crashes and show everyone that you cannot trust American-made drones. Once we received the drone and set up the dock, we put it to work. Very quickly, I realized the Skydio technology was actually really good.”

The initial trial of the Skydio X10 drone started in May of 2025. Within 4 months, Brookhaven had committed to installing 8 total Skydio drones across 4 launch locations throughout the city. All 8 were deployed by December of 2025, enabling them to cover 96% of the city’s jurisdiction with drones (the lone exception is restricted airspace because of a nearby airport). It also meant that they were able to double the number of call responses being supported by DFR.

DFR is just one piece of Brookhaven Police’s public safety technology ecosystem. They’re able to live stream drones, Axon Body 4 cameras, Axon Fleet 3 cameras, and more during an event through Axon Respond and Fusus. After an incident, all footage is uploaded directly into Axon Evidence, expediting the justice process and saving officers and detectives countless hours. Brookhaven also leverages the AI Era Plan where tools like Axon Assistant supports their officers in the field and Auto-Transcribe helps expedite the evidence review and Redaction process.

The technology has been a true force multiplier for the agency, and the results demonstrate the positive impact.

Results

Faster Response and Real-Time Awareness

Brookhaven’s DFR model fundamentally changed the speed of police response. The department reports average drone response times of approximately 53 seconds from the moment a 911 call is answered, with drones routinely arriving on scene before patrol officers.

Brookhaven officers described multiple incidents where suspects would likely have escaped without rapid drone deployment, including vehicle break-ins, armed suspects, and violent domestic incidents. “Without a 50 second response time, they’re gone,” Ayana said. “You don’t get them.”

911 calls are not always about emergencies. For instance, Brookhaven frequently receives calls about traffic lights not working properly. Instead of sending an officer to navigate traffic and investigate, they can send the drone. Sometimes the lights are working fine, but when there is an issue, the agency can notify Public Works and still save the officer a trip.

Brookhaven estimates that approximately 10% of calls can now be cleared without dispatching officers, allowing patrol resources to remain available for higher-priority incidents.

Crime reduction and retail crime success

Brookhaven’s investment in real-time policing technologies coincided with significant reductions across multiple crime categories. Between 2024 and 2025, the department reported:

• 12% reduction in total index crime

• 20% reduction in crimes against persons

• 11% reduction in property crime

• 45% reduction in burglary

• 24% reduction in motor vehicle theft

• 31% reduction in robbery

Retail crime became one of the clearest examples of operational impact. Brookhaven achieved a 77% shoplifting clearance rate in 2025, frequently recovering stolen merchandise and identifying suspects in real time through drone footage, ALPR systems, and integrated camera networks.

This has had a very positive impact on retailers in the community and even attracted new businesses to the area. According to Ayana, major retailers even began reaching out to understand what Brookhaven was doing differently from surrounding jurisdictions.

Officer safety and confidence

Brookhaven officers consistently describe the drone program as a form of virtual backup. In one department video, an officer explained, “It’s a relief that I know someone else is still looking after me when I don’t actually have a physical backup.”

The department gives officers access to live drone feeds across patrol devices, allowing them to monitor unfolding incidents in real time and coordinate response more effectively.

Ayana said one of the most important internal metrics is how many officers actively watch drone feeds during calls for service. Even routine calls generate significant engagement from patrol personnel monitoring incidents remotely.

“That means our officers have bought into the technology,” Ayana said. “It also means they know what’s happening before they get there.”

Investigative efficiency and clearance improvements

Brookhaven’s technology ecosystem has also reduced investigative workload and accelerated case resolution.
Detective caseloads dropped 22% over two years, going from 295 cases per detective in 2023 to 230 in 2025.

The department attributes the improvement to faster suspect identification, rapid apprehension, and stronger video evidence.

The city has also seen their justice process accelerate. According to Ayana, no drone cases have actually gone to trial. The DFR evidence is so strong, that suspects consistently plead out before trial. This has helped to free up the court system, save time and money, and delivered closure to community members much faster.

Evidence workflow modernization

With their previous DFR solution, Brookhaven relied on a manual evidence handling process. Each day, an officer would remove the SD cards from the drones on the roof, deliver them to lockboxes, and then bulk uploads everything into Axon Evidence.

Thanks to the Axon Air integration, drone footage uploads automatically into Axon Evidence, eliminating hours of repetitive administrative work. The department estimates the updated workflow saves at least 5 hours per week while also reducing chain-of-custody complexity and improving access to evidence.

Brookhaven also uses Axon Auto-Transcribe and Redaction Assistant inside Axon Evidence to accelerate public records responses and evidence preparation. This has saved countless hours, allowing them to redact visual information like faces, as well as audio like curse words or private information.

Conclusion and Looking Ahead

Brookhaven Police Department demonstrates how a mid-sized agency can use real-time technology to fundamentally reshape public safety operations.

What began as an effort to solve delayed aviation response evolved into one of the most mature Drone as First Responder ecosystems in the world — integrating drones, live video, ALPR, AI-powered workflows, and evidence management into a unified operational platform.

Crime is down. Clearance rates are rising. Investigative workload has fallen. Officers arrive with better information. And the department can respond to incidents at a speed that would have been impossible only a few years earlier.

The work is never done, however. Next up, Brookhaven PD will expand their use of the AI Era Plan and will also trial the Lightpost and Outpost ALPR cameras from Axon. 

As Brookhaven continues expanding its real-time policing strategy, the department is helping define what modern public safety operations can look like for agencies operating far beyond the scale of traditional aviation units.